Pressure-reducing valve.



E. J. BEST. PRESSURE REDUCING VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY '1, 1911.

1,020,959, Patented Mar. 26,1912.

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tmrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN J. BEST, OF ENSLEY, ALABAMA.

PRESSURE-REDUCING VALVE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN J. Bns'r, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ensley, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pressure-ReducingValves, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to pressure reducing valves and has for its objectto produce a self contained valve structure capable of reducing anavailable high pressure to a steady lower pressure in the simplestpositive manner and with the least possible number of parts.

I utilize an unbalanced regulating valve which automatically adjustsitself between the lower pressure and a counteracting force, such aspring or weight, which is susceptible of regulation to control thelower pressure. In this general type of valve I have devised manyimportant improvements, such as the diagonal or elliptical arrangementof the ports across the line of flow of the steam through the valvecasing; the novel shape of the valve with its small elliptical contactsurface and its guide ex tension which insures a perfect alinement ofthe valve and its guide with a minimum of friction and packing; theprovision of an elongated chamber in the valve member to receive thecounterbalancing spring which is inclosed in the valve casing; theprovision in the casing of a small fixed piston over which the guideextension of the valve works and which provides an easily packed aliningguide through which an exhaust port passes to unbalance the valve; andthe general self contained structure of the valve mechanism leaving noexposed parts which are likely to be injured or tampered with.

The foregoing and many other advantages are obtained from my inventionwhich in its preferred embodiment comprises the details of constructionand arrangement of parts which are illustrated in vertical sectionalelevation in the drawings, it being understood, however, that variouschanges may be made in the construction and ar rangement of the parts bythose skilled in the art to which my invention pertains withoutdeparting from its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing the valve cas- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 7, 1911.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

Serial No. 637,339.

ing 1. has a top plate 2, an inlet port 3 at one side adapted to beconnected to the high pressure pipe line, and an outlet port 4t oppositeto port 3 and adapted to be connected to the low pressure pipe line.\Vithin the casing is a valve member 5 comprising a central hollowsleeve portion connected to a piston (S which is guided in a bushing 7.This bushing at its upper end is flanged at S and rests upon and iscentered and secured by an off set shoulder 9 at the upper end of thecasing. The lower end of the buslr ing is secured in the diagonallydisposed diaphragm 10 which bisects the valve chamber passing from thebottom of port 3 to the top of port at. The lower end of the bushing isout 01f substantially even with the underface of the diaphragm. Iprovide the bushing with an elliptical series of parts 11 which extendaround the bushing parallel with and adjacent to the top surface of thediaphragm. The piston 6 has a narrow elliptical band or strip formingthe valve face 12 which in its lowered position serves to close theports ll. Above this inclined valve face the piston is externallyreduced to minimize friction with the bushing.

The central hollow sleeve portion of the valve member extends nearlyfrom top to bottom of the casing. This gives an extended spring chamber12 closed at its upper end by a cap plate 13 which has lateralextensions that receive cap screws 14; which pass through openings inlugs 15, formed integral with the valve sleeve, and receive nuts 16 bywhich the cap plate can be drawn down tightly upon the top of the sleeveand against the top of a helical spring 17, the lower end of which has amovable seat 18 disposed in the lower end of chamber 12 and carried byan adjusting screw 19. The valve has at its bottom an extendedcylindrieal end portion 20, formed by reducing hollow sleeve, and thisportion 20 is adapted to slide over a stationary plunger 21, seated inthe bottom of the casing and having a reduced threaded portionprojecting below same and engaged by a nut 22 which draws a llange 23 onthe plunger against the bottom of the casing and holds the plunger,which makes a pressure tight fit in the bottom opening in the casing,rigidly in position. The piston is hollow and internally threaded. toreceive the screw 19 which passes up through the piston into the springchamber. A nut 24: holds the screw- 19 in its adjusted positions. Thespring chamber 12 is in communication with the atmosphere by formed byholes in the screw 19. The valve member is held from turning by a guide26 formed by a vertical web in the casing wvhich engages in. a notchformed in a collar 27 on the valve. The valve is normally pressed by thespring 17 against the adjusting stop 28 formed by a screw inserted in athreaded opening in the plate 2. The web connecting the piston 6 to thevalve member has large ports 29 therein which admit the pressure belowthe valve to the chamber above the valve. l/Vhen horizontally disposedit will drain itself through the out-let port 4.

In operation, steam enters from the high pressure side, passes throughthe diagonal ring of ports 11 and fills the low pressure side of thecasing and also passes up through the ports 29, and acts on the top ofthe valve member. The exhaust port 25 unbalances the valve by openingthe interior of the valve chamber 12 to the atmosphere, but the spring17 opposes the tendency of the low pressure to move the valve and tendsto hold it against the stop 28. Vhen the pressure on the lower pressureside exceeds the desired maximum for which the spring 17 is set by meansof the adjusting screw 19, the pressure on valve member 5 will overcomethe resistance of this spring and will move the valve partially acrossthe ports 11 so as to partly close or throttle the main steam passagethrough the diaphragm, thereby reducing the initial pressure to therequired constant pressure. When the pressure on the low pressure sidefalls below the desired point, not having enough pressure to counteractthe spring, the valve member will be actuated thereby by the spring andwill open the main steam passage sufliciently to give the desiredincrease on the low pressure side. 3y means of the adjusting screw 19the spring can be readily set for any desired reduction of pressurewithin the limits of the valve by causingthe valve member to throttlethe steam in the manner described. The ports 11 being arranged parallelwith the diaphragm 10 will allow the steam to pass with the leastpossible deflection from its original direction, in traversing the valvecasing, thereby reducing the internal resistance of the valve.

It will be noted that the spring 17 is a relatively large and longspring. This is very advantageous, since the longer the spring and thegreater the number of coils, the less will be the compression per coilmember, thereby insuring the more perfect regulation. The spring is wellhoused and guided to. insure its best efficiency and is entirelycontained within the casing.

an exhaust passage 25;

The valve member 5 is preferably made in one piece and of cast iron,while the bushing 7 is preferably of brass. This is desirable becausethe cast iron of the valve will have less expansion than the brassbushing, and binding will thereby be eliminated.

The valve is perfectly balanced by reason of the passages 29 since thesteam pressure uniform allv around the valve inside the valve chamber.

This valve can be fitted for any pressure,

or any difference in pressures, and its direct action insures a minimumfluctuation ofthe pressure.

It will be obvious that the form of the valve, and the details andarrangement of its parts may be varied in many Ways without departingfrom the spirit and scope ofmy invention.

What I claim, is

1. In a valve of the character described, a valve casing having apassage therethrough, a valve member disposedv within said casing forcontrolling said passage and which comprises a hollow sleeve surroundedat an intermediate point by an annular valve face, a spring means in thecasing which enters said sleeve and tends to move the valve member toopen-said passage, means to admit the lower pressure in the casing abovethe valve member, and means to expose the valve to a pressure lower thanthe pressure in the casing to unbalance the valve and permit it to ing,means to expose the valve member to atmospheric pressure to unbalance itand permit it to move in opposition to said spring, and means operablefro-m the outside of the casing to adjust the spring tension,substantially as described.

3. In a pressure reducing valve, a casing having inlet and outlet port-sand ,a partition, which intercepts the flow of fluid through the casing,comprising an inclined,

diaphragm wall and a bushing having one or more ports disposeddiagonally to the line of flow of the fluid and extending around thebushing, a valve member surrounded at an intermediate point by aninclined annular valve face which slides in the bushing and closes saidport or ports, said valve member being automatically adjustable betweenthe lower pressure in the casing and a force tending to open'the valveand having only its valve face in sliding contact with said bushing, andmeans to guide and center said valve member, substantially as described.

4. A pressure reducing valve mechanism comprising a casing having inletand outlet ports separated by a diaphragm which divides the easing intohigh and low pressure sides, a cylindrical ported bushing seated in anopening in the diaphragm, a valve member exposed at each end to thelower pressure and comprising a central tubular sleeve and a ring valveface disposed substantially midway about said sleeve and which makessliding contact with the bushing and is adapted to close the portstherein, a guide for said tubular sleeve, a spring which works in saidsleeve and is surrounded by said valve which it tends to open a tensionadjusting means for the spring which is operable from without thecasing, and means to unbalance the valve member so that the lowerpressure will tend to move the same to close the valve in opposition tosaid spring, substantially as described.

5. A pressure reducing valve mechanism comprising a valve casing havinginlet and outlet ports separated by a ported diaphragm, a ported bushingseated in the easing and diaphragm and intersecting the high pressureend of the casing, a valve member disposed Wholly within said casing andexposed at both ends to the lower pressure and comprising a valve whichmakes a sliding fit in the bushing and a central hollow sleeve closed atone end, means to guide the other end of said sleeve, packing means toprevent leakage of pressure past said guide means into said sleeve,means to expose the interior of said sleeve to atmospheric pressure tounbalance said valve member, and adjustable spring means housed withinthe tubular sleeve and adapted to oppose the tendency of the valve tomove responsive to its unbalanced condition, substantially as described.

6. A pressure reducing valve mechanism comprising a valve casing havinginlet and outlet ports separated by a diagonal ported diaphragm, abushing seated pressure tight in the opening in said diaphragm, acircumferential series of ports in the bushing arranged in a planedisposed diagonally to the fluids flow, an unbalanced valve memberexposed above and below to the lower pressure and comprising anelliptical valve "face disposed in a plane parallel with the plane ofsaid ports in the bushing and which is in sliding engagement with saidbushing and adapted to control the flow of fluid through the portstherein, means on both sides of said diaphragm to center said valvemember and an adjustable force tending to open the valve against thelower pressure which imbalances it, substantially as described.

7. A pressure reducing valve mechanism comprising a valve casing havinginlet and outlet ports separated by a diagonal ported diaphragm, abushing seated pressure tight at one end in the casing and at the otherend in the opening in said diaphragm, a diagonally arranged series ofports in the bushing disposed substantially parallel with and on thehigh pressure side of the diaphragm, a valve member disposed whollywithin said casing comprising a diagonally disposed ottset ellipticalvalve face which alone is in Sliding engagement with said bushing andadapted to control the flow of fluid through the ports therein, anadjustable force tending to open the valve, means to expose said valvemember above to the lower pressure in the valve casing and below to theatmosphere to unbalance it and counteract said force tending to open thevalve, and guide means to hold the valve member against rotation.

8. A pressure reducing valve mechanism comprising a valve casing havinga ported partition therein, a valve which controls the port opening insaid partition, said valve being connected to an intermediate point of atubular sleeve, a spring housed within the sleeve, means to regulate thetension of said spring, and means utilizing the lower pressure in saidcasing to unbalance the valve against the tendency of said spring toopen it, substantially as described.

9. In a pressure reducing valve mechanism, a valve casing having apassage therethrough and a diaphragm dividing it into high and lowpressure compartments, an open ended bushing which is disposed acrossthe high pressure compartment and is seated in a port in said diaphragm,a valve member seated within the bushing and having openings which admitthe low pressure through the valve and bushing into the valve casingabove the valve member, a tubular sleeve in said casing connected to thevalve and extending through the port in the diaphragm, guide means toreceive the lower open end of the sleeve and close the same against theinternal pressure in the casing, a spring housed in said sleeve, anadjustable seat for the spring, means operable from without the casingto adjust the tension of said spring, and means to unbalance said valveand cause it to be urged by the internal pressure against the action ofsaid spring, substantially as described.

10. In a pressure reducing valve, a valve casing and a valve memberwholly contained within the casing and comprising a tubular sleeve andan unbalanced piston.

valve, a ported partition wall in which the valve moves, said pistonbeing exposed above and below to the low pressure, a spring chambermovable with the valve and open at one end, a fixed guide for the valvewhich enters and closes theopenend of said chamber, a spring housed insaid chamber, and an exhaust passage for the spring chamber which leadsthrough said guide, said valve being automatically adjustable be tweenthe lower pressure in the casing and a force tending to open the valve,substantially as described.

11. A pressure reducing valve comprising a casing having inlet andoutlet ports, a partition separating said ports and having an annularported valve seat therein, an unbalanced valve member which moves insaid annular seat and comprises a spring housing and a piston having anoff set narrow annular valve face, a guide in the casing which receivesand guides one end of said housing, means to introduce atmosphericpressure in said spring housing to unbalance the valve member, andspring means in said housing which tend to'move the valve against theunbalancing valve pressure to open the ports in the bushing,substantially as described.

12. A pressure reducing valve mechanism comprising a valve casing havinga passage therethrough, a ported diaphragm and a bushing seated thereinwhich divide the easing into high and low pressure compartments, a valvemember within the casing comprising a valve face which slides in thebushing and has a tubular extension, means in the casing to guide thelower end of said extension and exclude the casing pressure fromentering same, means to unbalance the valve member and cause the lowerpressure to tend to close it, a coiled spring housed in the tubularextension, and a member which passes up through said guide means and isadapted toadjust the tension of said spring, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN J. BEST.

Witnesses Norrie VVELSI-I, R. D. JOHNSTON, Jr.

Copies of this patent'may be obtained for five cents each, by,addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

